Day 11 - Explore Hue; overnight train to Hanoi

Hue is often claimed to be the cultural and historic centers of Vietnam and there is plenty to see. We took a guided 25k cycling tour of the city and surrounding tombs. This was the last day of cycling. In total, over the 10 day period, we approximately cycled 490k.

The most impressive site is the citadel, with walls six miles in length: inside are the palaces and halls of the Mandarins, and the remains of the Forbidden Purple City, where only the emperor and his eunuchs and concubines were allowed. We then cycle to the elaborate tombs of the Nguyen emperors, who ruled Vietnam from Hue. Tu Duc's Tomb is very elaborate and set in beautiful gardens. After which we visited the famous Thien Mu Pagoda. The pagoda was a center for anti-government protest in the early 1960s and it houses the Austin car that transported a monk, Thich Quang Duc, to Saigon in 1963 where he burned himself as a protest against the president. The photograph of his self-immolation was printed in newspapers all around the world. Then we took a boat along the Perfume River back to the hotel. In the afternoon we boarded the Reunification Express for the overnight ride to Hanoi.